Hertha Berlin coach Michael Skibbe has been sacked after just five games in charge of the Bundesliga club, according to reports in Germany.

Skibbe: Axed?

Saturday's over from Markus Babbel during the winter break - has proved to be the final straw with Skibbe apparently dismissed this morning.

"The fact is, we have lost five games and this is a normal reaction from the club," captain Andre Mijatovic is quoted as saying by the Bild newspaper, confirming reports that Skibbe had been fired.

"That's the way the coaching business works."

A press conference is due to be held early this afternoon to officially announced the parting of ways and lay out the future for the Bundesliga strugglers.

Skibbe is the sixth coach to be replaced in the Bundesliga this season, coming only a few days after Berlin's former coach Markus Babbel returned to action to replace Holger Stanislawski at Hoffenheim.

Stanislawski has now become one of the main candidates to take over in Berlin.

The writing was on the wall for Skibbe when Preetz failed to back him after yesterday's humbling.

"We will first head back to Berlin all together and then we have got to let the game sink in," he told Sky television.

"It is not about giving him our support - it was certainly not a half of football that even the coach has experienced before.

"We will discuss it and, of course, we will deal with it together."

After one night's sleep, Preetz has seemingly decided not to go any further with Skibbe and he informed him of his dismissal at a meeting this morning, reports said.

Several hundred fans gathered at the club's training ground this morning, staging a silent march before confronting the players outside the changing rooms.